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- What attributes of God’s character does this passage reveal?
- How does the passage point to Jesus?
- How should the truth of this passage change me?
- How do the events of today’s reading help you better understand the grand narrative of Scripture?
Ezek. 13-14
I wonder if the false prophets knew their prophecies were lies. Did they intentionally lead the people astray or were they themselves deceived? God certainly indicates that those who inquired of Him without genuinely seeking Him wouldn’t hear His truth. Instead, God Himself would deceive them, letting them stumble over their own stumbling block. What about those who didn’t even try to inquire of God, though?
I don’t know the answer to this question, but honestly, I don’t think it really matters. Both situations might actually have existed. The point to me is that, whether they made things up for personal gain or honestly believed they spoke truth, these prophets did not know the God for whom they claimed to speak. In one way or another they followed gods of their own making. Thus, they did not know the voice of the true Shepherd. And they did not build their lives on the firm foundation of His Truth. God’s judgment exposed that foundation. It exposes the foundation of each of our lives. Only what we build on God’s Truth will stand against it.
Ezek. 15
Jews aren’t saved by being Jews. Their identity, like everything else people rely on that isn’t God, is useless. As a people, their value comes from how God chose to use them. They were the fuel for God’s holy fire. Through them, He showed all of us our own uselessness. Yet through them He also showed all of us His love and extended His mercy to us.